IT was 1:30 p.m. and Alphonsus was famished. He had been reading up on his Obligations and Contracts the entire morning at Starbucks, slowly sipping at his Mocha Frappuccino to make it last till noon. He had entered the coffee shop at 8 a.m. and was required by common decency to order at least a drink. Now, 100 pages into Vitug, he needed real food. He chose to hop to another cafe known for its hefty sandwiches as it is for its coffee.

He entered Cafe Antonio with Starbucks cup still in hand, a fourth of the glass still waiting to be consumed -- the last sip scheduled at 4:30 p.m., after which he would return to Starbucks. He ordered a Reuben sandwich.

?May I offer to transfer your coffee to one of our mugs, sir?? the waiter asked Alphonsus. Alphonsus -- Alphee to his friends -- guarded the venti with his life. ?No, thank you.?

The waiter, upon instructions from the owners, who were particular about creating the proper ambience for their customers, insisted. ?It might taste better from the mug, sir, and anyway, it would look much better,? the waiter said in Filipino with a smile.

This persistence irked the clearly tired Alphonsus who replied: ?Ano bang problema mo eh babayaran ko naman yung sandwich ko? [What is your problem? I?m paying for my sandwich, aren?t I?]?

In Alphonsus? head: ?As vendor, you have the right to exact fulfillment of the obligation but my only obligation here is to give remuneration for my purchase and therefore as long as I pay for my Reuben sandwich, I am entitled to keep my Frappuccino! Dura lex sed lex! The law may be hard but it is the law.? The waiter backed down.

Five bites into the sandwich, Alphonsus asked the waiter if he could plug in his laptop. He needed to download Filinvest Credit Corp. vs. Court of Appeals from the Internet.

?I"m sorry sir, we do not have plugs for laptops and we do not have wi-fi,? the waiter explained. It was the aim of the restaurant to create an atmosphere that would encourage lively chatter over a delicious menu -- an atmosphere that a laptop, in spite of the benefits of technology, would kill. Alphonsus? eyebrows met. ?No wi-fi? May lugar pa ba sa mundo na walang wi-fi? Ano ba ?tong restaurant niyo, malala pa kayo sa gobyerno! (You mean there are still places that have no wi-fi? You?re worse than a government office).? And with that, Alphonsus huffed out of Cafe Antonio, leaving no tip.